ALUMNAE MAGAZINE Volume 76, Number 1 • Fall 2004
A MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT In my conversations with alumnae throughout last year, many of you asked, “How can we help Admissions recruit more students?” I responded by urging you to spread the word. As women who have experienced and benefited from everything Sweet Briar offers, you are the best spokespersons the College has. To help you make the case this fall—and also to give you a firsthand look at today’s Sweet Briar, we decided to take it one step further. Instead of a traditional Fall Alumnae Magazine, you are receiving three of our brand-new Admissions publications: an introductory overview piece, our new viewbook, and an Insider’s Guide to Sweet Briar. We are unveiling these new publications on campus in early September and wanted you to receive them at the same time so that all members of the Sweet Briar College family will see how we are marketing the College to prospective students. These new publications, developed after a year of research and market testing, are not as formal as you may be used to. They have been designed to engage sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds. Last fall, we contracted with Richard Harrison Bailey/ The Agency to develop a whole new family of publications. They met with students, faculty, staff and administrators on campus to hear their Sweet Briar stories. They developed and refined the messages with a great deal of care and then took them out to test with focus groups of prospective students and alumnae. The new messages were extremely well received by exactly the audience they have been designed for. We want to pique students’ interest so that they will come to visit our campus to talk to our students, sit in on classes, meet faculty and experience Sweet Briar firsthand. Students who visit our campus are far more likely to apply. Of the new students who are enrolling this fall, 93% had a campus visit. The Admissions Office headed by Ken Huus, Dean of Admissions, and his team had an excellent recruiting year and we are very pleased to be welcoming a strong class of 172 new students to our campus. Let me personally thank all of you who helped us with our efforts. A special thank-you to our Alumnae Admissions Representatives who contacted prospective students, it all! e says t attended College Fairs, and spent many hours on our la p cense ions’ li behalf talking to young women about Sweet Briar dmiss A f o an College. We look forward to your continued support and The De would welcome more of you who are willing to serve as AARs. We particularly need young alumnae to assist us in this role. I hope that you enjoy reading the new publications, but I especially hope that you will share them with a young woman who could benefit from a Sweet Briar education. Nothing would please me more than to have you ask for additional copies! If you do, we’ll stick them in the mail immediately.
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WELCOME TO THE CLASS OF 2008! •
Sweet Briar’s 99th session began on August 21, with the arrival of 187 new students: 172 members of the Class of 2008, 13 transfer students and 2 Turning Point (non-traditional college age) students.
How Alumnae Can Help In Recruitment By Ken Huus Dean of Admissions One of the many things we learned this year from both George Dehne (the person who completed the research for the Shape of the Future process) and Richard Harrison Bailey/The Agency (the group that has designed our new family of publications) is the importance to Sweet Briar of “word-of-mouth” and “grassroots” recruiting efforts. I think many people subconsciously understood the importance of this in our recruitment process, but I don’t believe there has been, in recent Sweet Briar history, a formal plan of how to successfully manage it (by nature, this is extremely hard to manage and to plan for).
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41% of the Class of 2008 came from VA. Other top states represented are MD, CA, TX, NC, FL, GA, MA, NY, CO, and SC.
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13 international first-year and exchange students came from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, Scotland, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, Zimbabwe.
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13 enrolling students are AfricanAmerican, American Indian, Asian, or Hispanic.
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__ % of the class received needbased financial aid. __ % received other financial assistance.
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68% of the class took Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate classes.
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57 % held a leadership position in high school clubs or organizations. 88 % were actively involved in community service.
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75 % describe themselves as athletes; 25 % as non-athletes.
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19% have traveled or studied abroad.
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7% are first-generation college students.
Bring a student with you to visit campus. If you have a daughter or granddaughter, or niece, bring her along even if she doesn’t want to attend a women’s college--she might be pleasantly surprised by what she finds. Offer to bring a neighbor’s or co-worker’s daughter. Once a student visits Sweet Briar, even if she was absolutely dead set against attending a women’s college, we have a betterthan-average chance of enrolling her; she might even have a sister or friend for whom Sweet Briar could be the perfect match.
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Academic interests indicated by the Class of 2008 on entrance (some students identified more than one area): Math and Sciences (32%); Humanities (28%); Social Sciences (11%); Fine Arts (4%); Undecided (25%).
Sign up to be an Alumnae/Admissions Representative (AAR). This year, we are asking AARs to contact every student who visits campus (expanding from contacting only the students who visit for an Open House program)--an estimated 750 students over the course of a year--and we have a need for additional alumnae from a broad range of undergraduate majors and professional experiences so that, regardless of a student’s interest, we’ll have an alumna with whom she can connect. In addition, we may call on you to represent Sweet Briar at a College Fair in your area.
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Postgraduate plans at the beginning of 2008’s college experience focused on Employment (24%); Graduate School (23%, unspecified); Vet School (6%); Law School (2%); Undecided (30%); Did Not Indicate (15%).
Use the enclosed referral form to recommend a student to the Admissions Office. Many, many students became interested in Sweet Briar and attended Sweet Briar because of an alumna’s positive influence. Share the enclosed materials with a prospective student and remain engaged with her throughout her college search and selection. We’ll treat your referral with the respect it deserves and will make sure that student receives a little extra attention throughout our already personal process.
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Campus: 93% had visited the campus; 7% had not visited.
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Alumnae Connections: 17% have alumnae family members or friends; 100% were contacted by AARs!
We are delighted to welcome this newest group of bright, talented, interesting young women to the Sweet Briar Family.
Throughout the past year, I have attended several alumnae gatherings and have heard from alumnae at every one a sincere interest in being involved in the recruitment process. Because of your interest, over the last few months, members of the Admissions Office and Alumnae Office have been in conversation about the best way to guide and direct your efforts to maximize the impact of your involvement. We have crafted some beginning goals for ourselves and will build on those as the program and plan take shape. I welcome your thoughts and ideas along the way. At every gathering, I was asked, “How can we help?” Until now, my answer was, “After Louise and I have time to gather information and create a plan, I’ll write an article for the Fall Alumnae Magazine.” And so, here are my suggestions of how you can help. This list of things to do may sound simple, but there is research and anecdotal evidence to support the validity of these activities. Talk freely about your positive experience at Sweet Briar. At cocktail parties, office functions, neighborhood gatherings, any time, anywhere you are in conversation with anyone: early in the conversation include the fact that you attended Sweet Briar. You never know who has a daughter, niece, granddaughter, or babysitter who might be interested in this kind of place. Sharing that information early in the conversation conveys an impression that you are proud of your experience and that Sweet Briar is an exciting and interesting place. Having to be asked where you attended college later in the conversation could give the impression that you were disappointed in your college choice, that you have not remained involved with the College and that Sweet Briar is not a good college option for others.
Please help us spread the word. One of my goals upon arriving here was to remove the descriptor “hidden gem” from any conversation involving Sweet Briar. Sweet Briar College should not be a hidden gem, but a gem that shines brightly for the entire world to see. An admissions staff of eight traveling counselors can’t do that alone. Please help us spread the word as we work to grow our enrollment to unprecedented levels. Thank you!
Ed. Note: Ken’s fall travels include 9/27-10/3 Milwaukee, WI, Admissions Conference; 10/3-10/9 Denver, CO; 10/29-11/1 Chicago, IL; 11/4 Charlotte, NC; t.b.a. Dallas, TX.
The AAR Program By Melissa Coffey ’98 Assistant Director, Alumnae Association
More than 350 Sweet Briar alumnae volunteers assist by recruiting young women as part of the Alumnae Admissions Representatives (AAR) Program. AARs attend College Fairs in their areas and contact prospective students who live in their communities or are interested in the field in which the alumna majored or works. By sharing Sweet Briar stories with prospective students, AARs keep the alumnae network strong by connecting with future alumnae.
Photo © David Abrams
Celebrating Three On-Duty AARs
Jennifer Crossland
Jaimie Del Monte Galbreath
Darelle Pfeiffer
Jennifer Crossland ’86 After graduation, Jennifer was a Counselor in the Admissions Office for two years. Later she served VA, WV, and Washington, D.C. as Region 3 Chair on the Alumnae Association Board for three years. Now she concentrates on recruitment, in her new role as the Board’s 3rd Vice President and Chair of National Alumnae Admissions Representatives and Financial Aid. Jennifer has served for many years as an outstanding AAR, contacting numerous prospective students in Richmond and attending College Fairs. President of Richmond’s Alumnae Club, she plans annual Back-to-School events for Sweet Briar students and includes them in the Sweet Briar Day event. Jennifer practices law at Parcell, Webb, and Wallerstein. Jaimie Del Monte Galbreath ’92 Jaimie became an AAR immediately after graduation! In 2002, she opened her home to new and returning Sweet Briar students in Northern Virginia for a Back-to-School gathering. Recognized as an outstanding recruiter for Sweet Briar, Jaimie was invited in 2003 to represent Washington, D.C. for the Pilot Program—a committee comprised of ten young alumnae from the Tidewater VA area, Richmond, VA, and NJ, who were charged to brainstorm about nontraditional ways to recruit Sweet Briar students. She currently serves the Washington, D.C. Alumnae Club as Vice President of Student Recruitment. Jaimie and husband Rob live in McLean, VA with their three children: Katherine (Kate, 6), Caroline, 4; and Elizabeth, 2. Darelle Pfeiffer ’98 Joining the AAR Program in 2000, Darelle represents SBC at New Jersey College Fairs and contacts prospective students via phone or e-mail. She assembles packets from leftover College Fair materials, adds a handwritten note, and sends them to area high schools. Also recognized as an outstanding recruiter, she was tapped in 2003 to represent NJ for the Pilot Program. Darelle served as Current and Prospective Student Relations Co-Chair for the New Jersey Alumnae Club, 2002-2004 and organized the delivery of Back-toSchool gifts from the Club to all NJ students. Club Secretary in 2005-2007, she has high expectations for a great NJ Alumnae Newsletter and website. Darelle, who lives in Howell, NJ, is a 3rd-year resident in foot and ankle surgery at the Department of Veterans Affairs. She will start private practice in 2005. The AAR Program is searching for additional volunteers to represent various geographic locations, as well as a broad range of undergraduate majors and professional experiences. To sign up, or to learn more about the AAR Program, visit the website http://www.sbc.edu/alumnae/network/aar.html or contact Melissa Coffey ’98 in the Alumnae Office at 434-381-6243 or mcoffey@sbc.edu.
Admissions Staff Travel Territories (by state)
Lindsey Boardman
Autum Matysek-Snyder ’04
Rachel Elkins Thompson’91
Nicole Smith
Sarah Elkins ’99
Mary Kay Svoboda
Lindsey Boardman Asst. Director, Admissions lboardman@sbc.edu
CT, FL, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY, RI, VT
Sarah Elkins’99 Asst. Director, Admissions selkins@sbc.edu
AR, IL, KS, LA, MI MN, MO, MS, NV, OH, OK, TN, TX, WI
Autum Matysek-Snyder ’04 Asst. Director, Admissions amatyseksnyder@sbc.edu
AZ, ID, IN, IA, KY, MT, NE, NM, ND, PA, SD, UT, VA (western half), WV, WY
Nicole Smith Asst. Director, Admissions nsmith@sbc.edu
AK, CA, D.C., DE, HI, MD
Mary Kay Svoboda Asst. Director, Admissions msvoboda@sbc.edu
NC, SC, VA (eastern half)
Rachel Elkins Thompson’91 Assoc. Director, Admissions rthompson@sbc.edu
Internationals, VA
Gretchen Gravley Tucker’98 Assoc. Director, Admissions ggravley@sbc.edu
AL, GA, OR, WA
Ken Huus, Dean of Admissions, will cover CO.
Gretchen Gravley Tucker’98
Grace Farnsworth ’04
Grace Farnsworth ’04 joins the staff in August, 2004.
Ken Huus, Dean of Admissions